Newburgh officer saves man who overdosed in library bathroom

Monday

Jun 23, 2014 at 2:57 PMJun 23, 2014 at 5:13 PM

NEWBURGH – A Newburgh police department lieutenant returning from Narcan training in Goshen used the anti-overdose drug to revive an unconscious man who had overdosed inside a bathroom stall at the city library Thursday morning.

Lt. Tom Murphy was one of two officers who responded around 11:47 a.m. to the library's Grand Street location for a report of an unresponsive man.

He and the other officer found a 24-year-old man slumped between the toilet and the stall's wall. The man's breathing was labored and his skin had turned purplish, police said. Nearby was a package of hypodermic needles, police said.

About an hour earlier Murphy attended a training on Narcan's use at the fire academy in Goshen. He used a dose of the drug he brought back from the training to revive the man, who was responsive by the time paramedics arrived to take him to St. Luke's Hospital for treatment, police said.

“That's amazing,” chief Mike Ferrara said. “In less than an hour he had saved a life.”

Newburgh's police department was just approved to receive reimbursement for Narcan through a program overseen by the state Attorney General's Office. The department will spend about $4,000 for the Narcan kits and another $3,600 on training.